Pia Fraus – After Summer

“After Summer” is produced by legendary Glaswegian Norman Blake (Teenage Fanclub, BMX Bandits, The Pastels etc). Pia Fraus and Norman Blake kept file transfer programs busy for months to exchange soundfiles; this relationship has created something magical. “After Summer” is the 4th proper album from the Pias, and quite possibly their best album to date. No wonder, if your idol takes producer’s chair! The album also features some guest musicians: Estonian electronica stars Galaktlan and Pastacas guest on two of the album’s tracks. Moreover, “After Summer” has the well-known and well-loved Pia Fraus sound, quality songwriting, a lot of studio tricks and layers of guitars, synths, and boy/girl vocals. This album will bring huge grins to the mouths of Pia Fraus fans, yet at the same time it is a perfect introduction to Pia Fraus for the uninitiated. For fans of MBV, Stereolab, Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Pia Fraus!

After eight years Seksound releases the first-time vinyl edition of “After Summer” by Pia Fraus – the band’s fourth album that has, so far, remained their last to-date.
The 2008 album was produced by Scottish indie legend Norman Blake, the leader of Teenage Fanclub, and Pia Fraus’ long time musical inspiration. “After summer” includes ten tracks that formed through the organic digital co-operation of the producer and band members, by the constant moving of sound files back and forth on Glasgow-Tallinn route. It was the first time that an outsider could make decisions on the sound of the album, and this surely hears in the overall soft tone. “Pia Fraus glows beauty. And they glow clearer and clearer,” said Siim Nestor in his review for Eesti Ekspress.
Even though there are a couple of darker sounding tracks on the LP, they do not alter the album’s overall positive air. Norman Blake’s jangle-pop sense of melody keeps the details and the whole in a refreshing balance. The album gains even more from Galaktlan’s and Pastacas’ dreamy sounds of synth and flute.
With the help of Clairecords and Vinyl Junkie Records, “After Summer” made its way to US and Japanese shoegaze fans, as before, but also to the Philippines with Universal Records. This unseen scope of Pia Fraus achieved loads of positive feedback. Compared to earlier reviews, Stereolab was often mentioned when drawing parallels, and notso much My Bloody Valentine. The ideas of “After Summer” have made their way also to the split 7-inch featuring Pia Fraus and Ulrich Schnauss “Mute The Birds / Ships Will Sail” and the remix compilation “Ten Remixes of Yenissey”